Feiten & cijfers over Congo

Geography

Location:Central Africa, northeast of Angola
Geographic coordinates:0 00 N, 25 00 E
Map references:Africa
Area:
total area:2,345,410 sq km
land area:2,267,600 sq km
comparative area:slightly more than one-fourth the size of US
Land boundaries:
total:10,271 km
border countries:Angola 2,511 km, Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Congo-Brazzaville 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km
Coastline:37 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone:boundaries with neighbors
territorial sea:12 nm
Climate:tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season April to October, dry season December to February; south of Equator - wet season November to March, dry season April to October
Terrain:vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east
lowest point:Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point:Margherita Peak (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m
Natural resources:cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower potential
Land use:
arable land:3%
permanent crops:0%
meadows and pastures:4%
forest and woodland:78%
other:15%
Irrigated land:100 sq km (1989 est.)

People

Population:46,498,539 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:48% (male 11,161,347; female 11,124,583)
15-64 years:49% (male 11,197,097; female 11,783,524)
65 years and over:3% (male 539,775; female 692,213) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate:1.67% (1996 est.)
Birth rate:48.1 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate:16.9 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate:-14.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:1 male(s)/female
15-64 years:0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over:0.78 male(s)/female
all ages:0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate:108 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:46.7 years
male:44.97 years
female:48.47 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate:6.64 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Ethnic divisions:over 200 African ethnic groups, the majority are Bantu; four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population
Religions:Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and traditional beliefs 10%
Languages:French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Literacy:age 15 and over can read and write in French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba (1995 est.)
total population:77.3%
male:86.6%
female:67.7%

Economy

Economic overview:Congo's economy has continued to disintegrate. While meaningful economic figures are difficult to come by, Congo's hyperinflation, chronic large government deficits, and plunging mineral production have made the country one of the world's poorest. Most formal transactions are conducted in hard currency as indigenous bank notes have lost almost all value, and a barter economy now flourishes in all but the largest cities. Most individuals and families hang on grimly through subsistence farming and petty trade. The government has not been able to meet its financial obligations to the IMF nor put in place the financial measures advocated by it. Although short-term prospects for improvement remain doubtful, improved political stability would boost Congo's long-term potential to effectively exploit its vast mineral and agricultural resources.
GDP:purchasing power parity - $16.5 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate:-7.4% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita:$400 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture:NA%
industry:NA%
services:NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):12% monthly average (1995 est.)
Labor force:14.51 million (1993 est.)
by occupation:agriculture 65%, industry 16%, services 19% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:NA%
Budget:
revenues:$479 million
expenditures:$479 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)
Industries:mining, mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement, diamonds
Industrial production growth rate:-20% (1993)
Electricity:
capacity:2,830,000 kW
production:6.2 billion kWh
consumption per capita:133 kWh (1993)
Agriculture:coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products
Illicit drugs:illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption
Exports:$419 million (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities:copper, coffee, diamonds, cobalt, crude oil
partners:US, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, UK, Japan, South Africa
Imports:$382 million (c.i.f., 1994)
commodities:consumer goods, foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels
partners:South Africa, US, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK
External debt:$11.3 billion (December 1993 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient:ODA, $NA
Currency:1 zaire (Z) = 100 makuta
Exchange rates:new zaires (Z) per US$1 - 10,618 (October 1995), 1,194 (1994), 3 (1993); zaire (Z) per US$1 - 645,549 (1992), 15,587 (1991)
note-1:on 22 October 1993 the new zaire, equal to 3,000,000 old zaires, was introduced
note-2:By the end of 1997, President Kabila is expected to introduce a new national currency: the Congolese Franc
Fiscal year:calendar year

Transportation

Railways:
total:5,138 km (1995); note - severely reduced trackage in use because of civil strife
narrow gauge:3,987 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge
Highways:
total:145,000 km
paved:290 km
unpaved:144,710 km (1991 est.)
Waterways:15,000 km including the Congo, its tributaries, and unconnected lakes
Pipelines:petroleum products 390 km
Ports:Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka
Merchant marine:none
Airports:
total:217
with paved runways over 3 047 m:4
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m:3
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m:15
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m:2
with paved runways under 914 m:82
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m:17
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m:94 (1995 est.)

Communications